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OPERATION RAT: In such a massive invasion one of the most powerful tools at House Davion's disposal was the sheer displacing terror forced upon the Liao defenders--and fear cannot be fought even with BattleMechs.

Brevet major Shen Ling of the Chesterton Reserves watches as the DropShips of the House Davion assault force descend on Tybalt on 22 November 3028 together with his older brother Shen Hai, a maskirovka operative. One of the DropShips, the Whitewind, spins out of control and crashes as they watch, giving Shen Ling some hope for the upcoming battle.

The incident has messed up the attackers' combat landings and formation, scattering those units that have dropped while delaying others from dropping. Shen Ling in his Stalker encounters the enemy Major GeneralCharles Duncan in a Cyclops and immediately jumps at the chance to deliver a decapitation strike against the attackers. Duncan meanwhile fights for his life, with reinforcements on the way. A heavily damaged Davion JagerMech that had dropped on the battlefield from the Whitewind eventually tips the scales in Duncan's favor.

Shen Ling withdraws, feeling he has lost a chance to save his planet. His brother, however, has more aces up his sleeve. To cover the retreat, he seals off a bridge in the capital of Macbeth that is now packed with fleeing civilians, assuming that the Davion forces will not trample the civilians with their BattleMechs just to pursue the withdrawing Capellans. Shen Ling also cannot bring himself to cross in his Stalker, and he and his brother end up in Davion captivity where they argue about the extent to which resistance would have been justified. Shen Ling is offered all honors of POW status and Duncan's respect following the BattleMech fight they fought, while Shen Hai, being an intelligence operative, is locked away to be questioned. Shen Hai assaults a guard to steal his sidearm and shoot himself; his brother figures that his totalitarian mind was a brittle thing, and unable to cope with the changes that come with the Davion invasion.